Nice 5 day get away

I enjoyed my trip on the Fascination and would like to do more cruises in the future. The weather was cool, but there was enough to do to make it a fun trip. I enjoyed the shows, various activities and food. This was only my second cruise and I was a bit taken back by all the tips that are charged for everything we purchased. One tip per day is enough and we should not be nickel and dimed with tips on every little purchase or request from getting an ice bucket, purchasing a wine package that really was a rip-off, bottled water at dinner, etc. A lot of workers on this cruise came to "help" with their hands out for a tip. OH, and get rid of the men at the port who take your bags about 25 yards to turn in. This guy grabbed our bags and put them on his cart before we could even orient ourselves and immediately asked for a tip. As we walked across the road we realized that the drop off for our bags was right in front of us. So, even though I was not pleased with the excessive expectation of a tip for breathing, I still enjoyed myself on the cruise.

Another OH moment was the glass bottom boat trip at the Half Moon Cey... not worth the money. Nothing really to see that you couldn't see from the beach.

Another recommendation, do not take the bus offered by the carnival cruise lines. It cost $42 R/T per person from the airport to the port. Fortunately, my wife and I went outside to check on the cost of a taxi and it was $30 for the both of us. So we took the taxi and did not have to wait 45 minutes for the bus to show and take a big group of people. On the way back from port we took the Blue Shuttle to the airport for $25 so we ended up getting to our destinations quicker and for less money.

Ok that is about it for my comments....little things that kept me from giving Carnival a 5 star rating. I still plan on taking more cruises and these little lessons learned will help me on future cruises.

Category Ratings

Click table then swipe to view all columns.

Cabin / Stateroom

It was a nice cabin.

Embarkation and Disembarkation

Ship Quality

Destinations and Excursions

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Food and Dining

Port Ratings

Click table then swipe to view all columns.

Tip

1. Don't use Carnival Cruise provided bus. It is more expensive than a taxi and you have to wait up to 45 minutes or more.
2. Don't use the baggage cart men in front of the cruise check in. Drop off is just 25 yards from taxi drop off.
3. Glass bottom boat trip at Half Moon Cey isn' worth it

Now at port in JAX I will have to agree they are rude! We get up to the door and some guy comes out and tells us we had to give him our one bag (rolling 3ft duffle bag) because it was too large for us to bring on the ship ourself. He takes it then said if we show him some love and depending on how much love he will get our bag to our room within an hour. Seriously!!! I mean a tip yes but that went too far. And then we get inside to see people toting bags bigger than ours and found out the man lied to us just to get money. This was my 3rd cruise with Carnival and 1st from JAX port....no blame on Carnival and next time I leave from this port they will not get anything from me except what I pay for parking.

Not sure what you mean by tips charged on the cruise though. There is a spot for you to write in a tip on the receipt you sign but you are not required to give one. I do give tips if I am brought a drink at a show but rarely do if I am just getting a soda up at the bar...if I do it's like 50 cents. I was just on the Fascination and never once was I asked for a tip...thats why I ask what do you mean by charged a tip.

I never knew it was already added in is what I mean because I normally just get a soda so I have never paid attention. It's just a soda so no mixing or anything involved...why 15% on a soda lol. Thank you!

Did not know that either! Then I think it is reasonable to give a tad more if they bring it to me like at a show and really nothing extra if I go up to the bar and get it myself...since they are already getting 15%??

I usually don't have to go to bar directly first server that shows up walks away with $5-$10 extra tip, depending how many people we are sitting with, so they are back to check on us often keeping glasses full!

Thank you so very much!!! Now I will know for my next cruise in November! My tips given at the bar will be determined on only if I get great service but away from the bar I will continue tipping each time.

The porters that take your bags are not Carnival employees. I think your should take this concern to that company because that is not how they should treat you. I did not have the same experience with them. i appreciated the kind gentleman that took my bag and gave him a customary $1. I was nice to not worry about wheeling that thing around with my carry on. As far as on board tips... I received amazing service my whole time on board. I happily tipped the people pampering and serving me because i appreciated them. You can always adjust a tip amount but you should have known prior to cruising tips are NOT included and prepared for this. It isn't hidden.

lynnette5354 is correct...the people at port are not Carnival workers. I always carry my own bags on and each of us had only one. I would never mind somebody asking to take our bags and paying a fee of 2 to 5 dollars per bag but this man told us he had to take the one bag(he didnt want the rest of them) and then when he said what he did about showing the love we gave him 5 dollars and he said it would take a lot more than that to expedite your bags.I asked him how much he was talking about and he said fifty..ummmm don't think so. It just threw us back because we were going to carry our bags on board ourselves just as we have the other cruises we have been on and things we wanted when we first got on board were in that bag. Then to find out the man lied to us...but I never blamed Carnival for this and did call and complain to the port upon our return. By the way our bag took several hours but I imagine it would have been the same amount of time even if we had given him fifty...he had no control over that bag and how long it would take to get to our cabin once it was onboard!

Yes happy cruising! You are very welcome larabrooks! With the amount of hard earned money spent on these it is good to know where your $$$ goes. I still ask questions and read through forums to have an idea of what to expect.

I'm still a little confused as to why you thought you would be able to get in your cabin right away? We went on our first cruise in September and I researched everything. And every tip I read said to take a small carry on. With a change of clothes,swim suit and sunscreen. And anything you may need to get you though till you actually leave port.

We also got the cheers package and we were never charged an additional tip unless, we added it. We prepaid our gratuities when we booked our cruise. But gave an additional cash tip to those who served us all week. Such as our room steward, waiters in the dining room and the girl who served us our drinks on the Lido deck.

We tipped the porters who took our luggage.
Not because they required it or asked for but because it was the right thing to do.
We also tipped our excursion guides and drivers.
On your next cruise, take a few minutes and ask your steward, or waitress about themselves. They work 7-9 months on a ship. Everyday morning to night. They don't get a day off. Yes they sign a contract to work. But dang.

I agree with Izzybee. Get to know those that are taking care of your every need. Our last cruise our room steward was from Bilze. He said they got paid the minimum wage of their country. It was much less than here in the US. This is every staff member. Their wage is based on where they are from.

You had somebody else bring your bags to your room which is why they suggest you bring a Little carry-on with a few things to tide you over...thats because it takes a while to have your bags delivered not because you can't go to your room. I am going on my fourth cruise and believe me....your room is waiting for you when you get on board. I like to carry all of my bags on abd go straight to my cabin...I unpack everything so it is done and out of the way, change and hit the ludo deck!

Most of the time your luggage is pretty quick but sometimes....well you know you may be waiting a while. We only bring one rolling bag per person in our cabin so it is not bad bringing it ourself. Welcome to cruising!! After my first I was addicted!!

Cruising is definitely addicting! We can't wait to go again in May. We seriously don't go a day without talking about it, lol. We used the porters and tipped them $1 per bag. That's what I read that most people do. Plus we had a couple of suitcases without wheels, and who wants to carry those around? Haha Also, I reduced my automatic gratuity and tipped my steward and waiter staff personally. Worked well for us.

Review Stats

Other Reviews Of This Sailing

*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency, and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners (travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on external web sites.